Development and Characterization of Saw-Tooth-Type Slit Nozzle for Electrospray

Abstract

A novel slit-type electrospray nozzle was developed and characterized. The nozzle consisted of two parallel slits, one of which had sawtooth-like tips. We determined the current-flow rate and droplet size-flow rate relationships, and found that there was a stable cone-jet mode at each sawtooth-like tip. The size of the generated droplets and the flow rate at each spraying tip were determined by using a phase Doppler particle analyzer. The mono-dispersed droplets with diameters of 18-22 mu m and a geometric standard deviation of 1.06-1.10 were produced. The stable cone-jet mode was observed at flow rates of up to 160 mL/h. The tip-by-tip variations of the droplet sizes and the flow rates at the tips were less than 5% and 6%, respectively.